Pensioners fuming over government ‘theft’

[Windwalker]

No, you have paid the pensions of other people for the past 50 years.

semantics, we all pay into the system to get a pension when we retire, I paid for the previous generations pension and the next pays for mine. So as wheelsup says your pension isn’t a gift. Edited January 19, 2019 by Windwalker

[Muckle Oxters]

Ower the past few posts, aabody is right in dir own wye!

 

I tink it's important for folk to understand dat how much pension dey get, and when dey'll start getting it, is based on da governments ability to pay rather than a direct link to how much folk hiv paid into da pot.

 

I ken some folk dat think their pension is kinda lik a personal savings account and dunna really understand dat it's more lik a massive joint account!

 

Workin folk pay into da joint account, and older folk tak oot o it. As da UKs population average is gettin older, dir's simplly less workin folk to pay for dem.

[Muckle Oxters]

Dat said, da government should be clearer and mare realistic we folk about how much dey'll get and when dey'll get it. It's a cashflow prediction, really.

 

Da best thing folk can do is save something extra fur retirement demselves, but da UK population isna very good a saving money compared to some idder countries. 

 

And it's aa very weel saying dat, but a lot o folk dunna hae much spare cash tae save in da first place........

Edited January 19, 2019 by Muckle Oxters

[BigMouth]

The problem is that the government can change the rules at any time, so the populace can't really plan into the long term. As far as I am concerned we had a contract that allowed me to retire at 65. The government has reneged on that so now I have to work longer. There are less young people paying into the pot. The reason that there are less young people is because a great number of my generation put off having a family to get on the first rung of the property ladder. If they had children, they had them later.

 

A house buying public is great for a government. Tax revenues increase through the purchase of the house, improvements, furnishing etc. It also keeps the population in debt, and therefore productive, creating more revenues through taxation of income and expenditure. When those with houses find themselves with spare cash they invest in more houses, usually to rent out at high rents. Those renting them are in an odd position of being able to afford to pay someone else’s mortgage, but can't get one of their own. They probably work in low paid or minimum wage jobs, finding themselves with little disposable income, and due to their low wage, little going into a pension. Their long term outlook is bleak. They may never retire. Those of us close to retirement either need to count ourselves lucky, or stop the government peeing so much money up the wall on vanity projects such as HS2, garden bridges, nuclear deterrence, etc., and also outrageous costs such as Westminster. We need MPs to sort out the tax laws to stop the wealthy undermining the country by off-shoring their wealth, especially when the homeless die on the streets of Westminster under the noses of our politicians, who drink subsidised alcohol in their bars at work, with their highly subsidised meals.

Edited January 19, 2019 by BigMouth

[Davie P]

• https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2019/02/09/strong-turnout-at-lerwick-pension-protest/
• https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2019/02/09/protesters-feel-robbed-by-state-pension-changes

In both reports about today's protests, the protesters are saying there wasn't enough warning given that these changes were coming. Does anybody know how much awareness raising the government did?

[Claadehol]

Women have always campaigned for equality, equal pay etc. with men. Well equality means retirement

at the same age surely.

It's a pity they haven't lowered the men's pension age to that of women, but then I suppose men have

never raised a fuss about that inequality.

We just managed to grin and bear it.

[Colin]

I suppose that the reality is that when the state pension was first introduced, men generally retired at 65 and died within a year or two.  Women tended to be a little younger than their husbands, did not (generally) work, and lived a little longer.  They needed supporting.

Nowadays, we tend to live a good bit longer and, given that a very large (but shrinking) proportion of the population have no private pension, the cost is unaffordable.

 

I'm afraid that I agree with the view that;

as both men and women now work, then the qualifying pension retirement age should be the same.

 

As for it's introduction, I think that the government must have picked "a good day to release bad news" and the whole thing should have been phased in in an orderly manner.

[Muckle Oxters]

I might be missin something here, but surely it would have been fairer to introduce da changes gradually e.g. add an extra year to the retirement age every couple o years?

 

Dir will be some poor souls who, by fate of dir birthday, will be havin to work an extra few years more dan somebody born twaree days before dem. Dat wid be a right sitter!

[Capeesh]

When I read hypocritical gushing quotes from our representatives in local media regarding the changes to pensions for women born in the 50's, I wonder if they will ever ask Tavish Scott and Alistair Carmichael why the Lib Dems, along with the Tories, introduced these changes when they were in Government? They voted for it!!! In fact, it was Alistair Carmichael's job as government whip to make sure everyone else in that government voted for it too!! Some brass neck protesting against their own policies right enough. It's like blaming the dog for their own smell.

[BigMouth]

Capeesh, the cynics amongst us may think that being a duplicitous tw*t is part of the job description.

 

* insert the letter a

[George.]

The Westminstorean winkers will strip us bare as soon as they possibly can, and I doubt that they'll bother to say "Thank you".

[BigMouth]

Getting away from pensions for a moment, we were all told that trickle down economics was the answer. This is despite the Tories knowing that a large percentage of social housing that was sold has ended up with private landlords owning multiple properties. Perhaps we should try trickle up economics for a while. Wealth always ends up at the top anyway.

[BigMouth]

Women being treated differently again, i.e. better

 

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/judge-tells-banned-drink-driver-16118933

 

In short, drunk woman with two previous drink driving convictions, collides with 3 cars, her own car catches fire, which she has to be dragged from.  Female judge tells her if she was a man she would have jailed her immediately, instead she gets the sentencing delayed.

 

I ought to say that women are by far my favourite gender, but christ they get it easy when it comes to equality.

[Colin]

Nothing like "even handed" justice is there. 

[Sukibind]

Just has a quick google... I know its from a year or two ago, but 114!!! Makes the solitary one femail lenient sentence you are so worked up about seem a bit tame in comparison. Not too sure what this has to do with the very unfair pension debate.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prison-sentences-attorney-general-unduly-lenient-sentence-scheme-rapist-murderer-terror-offences-a7867351.html